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Monday, June 29, 2015

Five Recent Product Disappointments

It's been a long time since I've done an underachievers list of shame. I guess I've been extra lucky or incredibly choosy with the makeup and cosmetics I've chosen to test. Almost everything has been good and found its use in my rotation or my skincare routine. Except for these five:

1. Nature Republic Avocado Sheet Mask. I'm a mask addict and try to use them at least five times a week. I even have the Mask Maven subscription through BeautequeMonthly.com. As a matter of fact, this avocado mask came in my subscription box, which was otherwise brilliant. Except for this pore-clogging nightmare. It took quite a bit BHA and propolis balm to get the gunk out of my pores afterwords.

2. Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream. I don't know why I had such high expectations and so much confidence in this tinted moisturizer, considering I deeply dislike most of the base products from this brand. The "Hydrating Gel Cream" got to me, most likely, and I just had to have it. Fail. I still owe you a foundation roundup from the last few months, but I can already tell you that this one will be at the bottom due to its drying effect and strange heavy finish.

3. Peter Thomas Roth Camu Camu Power C x 30™ Vitamin C Brightening Serum. After using up several bottles of excellent but stinky Vitamin C serums (Paula's Choice and Flavo-C forte), I was desperate for something effective that will not make me smell like skunk for the first eight hours of my day. This one looked like a good idea (it contains fragrance, which doesn't bother me). However, after several weeks I could tell it was doing absolutely nothing for skin brightening. Experience has taught me how to see the difference in my skin, and all the Camu Camu (Myrciaria Dubia fruit extract) in the world could not have faked it. I moved on.

4. DermOrganic Intensive Hair Repair Masque. I needed hair mask and was already at Ulta, so I picked this up on a whim. I've been so spoiled by L'Occitane that at first I wasn't sure what was going on with my hair, but the lack of extra nourishment or shine started to show. I have no idea why, since the ingredient list looks very promising. It should have worked, but it didn't. At least the smell was good and the mask is free of coconut derivatives so I didn't break out along the hairline.

5. YSL Eye Shadows. I reviewed them extensively here and here. so I won't repeat it again. But I was deeply disappointed with the latest YSL releases. Both the liquid and the powder eye shadows looked incredible in their tube and pan, but performance was shockingly sub-par, especially since there are so many excellent alternatives on the market.

Did you have any similar encounters recently? Do these products perform better for you?

4 comments:

I didn't even try the Bare minerals, because though strongly tempted by new product, I know their products just do horribly on my skin.

I recently discovered that Cover Fx drops cannot be applied directly to my skin or I will have a massive break out in the area I was trying to cover. Fail. Have yet to discover what I should mix it with.

Have you tried the vitamin C from Phyto-C? It does not have a strong odor and I have been using it for the past month with good results.

I love the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue. I'm really fair, with slightly cool-toned skin, that's dry/dehydrated and acne prone. The Opal is perfect for me. It's definitely heavier than a tinted moisturized/BB cream, so I can see why some people wouldn't like it if they were expecting something lighter - it's almost like a medium foundation on me (which is fine by me, I have a lot of unevenness to cover). I usually buy drugstore foundation, but there's enough of a quality difference between this and my recent drugstore fav (L'oreal TrueMatch Lumi that I'm going to spring for the BM). Definitely get a Sephora sample if you can - this is one to "try before you buy" (and, if I may be juvenile for a moment, the Sephora SA marked my samples "BM Rescue" - which made me giggle).

Unfortunately, I've had a few recent flops, both in skin care and makeup. I tried Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream and it was a massive fail. I figure with the existence of products such as Le Metier de Beaute' Peau Vierge or Laura Mercier's Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer with SPF, do I need anything else? Probably not.

I've heard that Camu Camu has a high amount of Vitamin C but not being buffered, also has the potential for irritation, not a good thing. I love the Vitamin C serum and Antioxidant Serums by Paula's Choice and SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, I've got that area covered, in spades. I'm a fan of PC products, which are effective and reasonably priced.

My skin care fail (major fail) came with the purchase of Ole Henriksen's Truth Serum Collagen Booster and Invigorating Night Treatment. The Truth Serum never absorbed and although I loved the smell, it was probably too irritating and never quite dissipated. It also caused every foundation I used on top of it to oxidize.

I'm a long time user of glycolic acids and retinol products, but whatever is in the Invigorating Night Treatment was so active my skin and neck started burning and itching with a vengeance. Layering it over a moisturizer to buffer the harsh effects did nothing to reduce or buffer the harsh effects. I'm peeling like a snake as we speak.

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